In these blog posts, I will share key points from books I’m reading. Today I am sharing from “Mindfulness in Plan English” by Bhante Bhante Gunaratana, so that together we can benefit from these noble truths and transform our lives. I’d love to hear from you in the comments section!
- The mind can never be focused without a mental object. Therefore we must give our mind an object that is readily available every present moment. One such object is our breath
- In spite of your concerted effort to keep the mind on your breathing the mind will likely wander away. As soon as you notice that your mind is no longer on your breath, mindfully bring it back and anchor it there.
- Keep your mind straight on the point where you feel the breath at the rims of your nostrils.
- When the mind is united with the breath flowing all the time, we will naturally be able to focus the mind on the present moment.
- The mind is tricky. Thought is an inherently complicated procedure. By that we mean that we become trapped, wrapped up and stuck in the thought chain. One thought leads to another, which leads to another, and another and so on. There is a difference between being aware of a thought and thinking a thought. That difference is very subtle. It’s primarily a matter of feeling or texture. A thought you are simply aware of with bare attention feels light in texture; there is a sense of distance between thought and awareness viewing it. On other hand normal conscious thoughts is much heavier in texture. It sucks you in and grabs control of your consciousness.
